Random Reflections On General Conference

 Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see— how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. Psalms 34:8 (The Message)

Well it’s been a month since I last Mused and General Conference has come and gone. Having been a major part of the Host Team I was able to get access into the inner workings of this event. What follows are my random reflections, in no particular order, to what I saw, heard, felt and experienced at GC2016. There will be more to come on this but for today this will do.

The world is full of diverse people yet in many ways we are all the same:

·         baggage is a hassle when you travel

·         Airports make you tired and uncomfortable

·         Respect and common decency go a long way on both the giving and receiving ends

·         We all want to be safe, happy, and feel we are doing the best we can for ourselves and others

Institutions can bring out the best and worst in us all:

·         Imagine No Malaria cutting deaths in half

·         Caring, compassionate responses to those in need

·         Sincerely praying for and with one another

·         Hurtful, hateful language that we would never speak to one another face-to-face and one on one

·         Change is a threat and it is feared

·         Power can be truly evil

Hope flares and despair rises:

·         Can we use Rule 44? Hope then defeat when it is rejected

·         Can we reorganize so that the benefits some receive from our polity can be accessed by all? The US becoming a Central Conference raises hope, but the body says no.

·         Will this be the year when the UMC will finally allow full inclusion of LGBTQ folks in all its life and ministry? No vote – unsure how to feel

·         Can we find a way forward as a denomination? Glimmer of a hope in the Bishops’ recommendation. We will have to wait and see

Volunteers rock!

·         650 or so volunteers stepped up and provided countless hours of assistance, information, smiles, sympathy, encouragement, and all around extravagant hospitality

·         A handful of the best do way beyond whatever could have been expected or hoped for

·         Christian love and acceptance ruled the days

What happens at GC really doesn’t change the local church – my church and my people will continue to practice their faith, respond to God’s call, be and do all that God asks of us, and remain open to going where the Spirit leads regardless of what the institution says.

Dear God, may my eyes to open and my ears attentive and my heart receptive so that where I am and whoever I encounter I can receive as I would you. Help the UMC to catch a vision of what can be and do the risky things to make it so. Help us to care less about winning and losing, my agenda verse yours, and more about making the world a better place for all your children. Amen.